Hatch cover and actuating means



Jan. 9, 1940. E. B. WILLIAMS 2,186,129

HATCH COVER AND VACTUATING' MEANS Filed May 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F v 5 BY fwrafi/ 5. W/LL/AMa MWfisW ATTORNEY5 ings Patented Jan. 9, 1940 HATCH COVER AND ACTUATING MEANS Egerton B. Williams, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The American Ship Building Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application May 26, 1938,. Serial No. 210,128

1 Claim. (01. 1l4--202) 7 proved hatch cover actuating means of a simpler and more direct acting type then has heretofore been used and which does not require a traveling crane or other cumbersome and expensive apparatus for moving the covers to open and closed positions. 1

Another object of my invention is to provide improved hatch cover actuating means in which a pair of spaced rails extend longitudinally of the ship at opposite sides of a series of hatch openings and wheels on the individual covers adjacent the corners thereof are operable on such rails for shifting the covers into an out of hatch closing position.

A further object of my invention is to provide a hatch arrangement and cover actuating means, of the type referred to, in which the spacing of the hatch openings of the series and the width of the covers are such that when the covers are moved into the spaces between the pairs of openthey leave the openings substantially unobstructed.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an arrangement, of the type referred to, in which the cover actuating means includes power means at one end of the series of openings for moving the covers to open position and power means at the other end of the series for moving the covers to closed position.

Yet another object of my invention is to'provide a novel construction for a wheeled hatch cover.

My invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and particularly set out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a ship provided with the hatch arrangement and cover actuating means of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial top plan view showing one of the hatch covers on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view taken through the deck of the ship and showing the hatch cover and coaming in end elevation;

Fig. 4 is another partial vertical sectional view taken through the deck of the ship and showing a portion of the hatch cover and coaming in elevation;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken through the hatch cover and coaming as indicated by line 5--5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a partial vertical sectional view taken as indicated by line 66of Fig. 4 and showing one of the hatch cover clamps;

Fig. '7 is a partial vertical sectional view taken through one of the wheel bearings as indicated by line T''i of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is a partial sectional plan View taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 4 and showing the construction of one of the wheel mounting brackets at the corners of the hatch covers.

Further reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings for the purpose of describing my improved hatch construction and cover actuating means more in detail but before proceeding with the detailed description it should be understood that the drawings are to be regarded as illustrative and that the invention may be embodied in various other constructions and arrangements. L

In Fig. l of the drawings I show a ship III m UK having a longitudinally extending series of hatch openings H in its spar deck l2 affording access to the hold'of the ship for loading and unloadingcargo. 'Each of the hatch openings is provided with a cover l3 although as a matter of convenience I have shown covers only for the end hatches of the series. The spacing of the hatch openings and the width of the covers l3 are such that the covers canbe moved into the spaces between the pairs of adjacent openings to thus leave the hatch openings substantially unobstructed. a

As will be explained more in detail hereinafter, I arrange a pair of spaced continuous rails M to extend longitudinally of the ship at opposite ends of the hatch openings and provide. the covers with wheels !5 at their corners which are operable on the rails for moving the covers to open and closed positions. To facilitate the opening and closing of the hatches I provide a winch it, or other power means, at one end of the series of hatch openings, for example the forward end, for moving all of the hatch covers toward closed position and provide an-' other winch H at the other end of the series for moving all of the hatch covers to open position. A cable i8 leading frorneach winch may have a bridle Hi at its outer end for detachable connection with the covers'for actuating the same. In opening the covers the bridle it of the winch H is applied to the covers in, succession, beginning with the cover of the foremost hatch, and during the closing of the hatches the bridle of ion the rails M.

the winch I6 is applied to the covers in succession, beginning with the rearmost cover.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, each of the hatch openings II is surrounded by a plate-like structure which extends above the deck l2 and is commonly known as a coaming. This coaming may be provided around its upper edge with a lateral flange 2| which forms a seat for a sealing gasket 22 when the hatch cover [3 is applied to the coaming. The hatch openings ll preferably extend athwartship, that is, transversely of the ship in substantially parallel relation with each other and may be substantially rectangular in outline. The coaming 2f] corresponds in shape with the hatch opening, that is to say, is rectangular and the cover [3 is likewise of rectangular shape.

The hatch covers [3 are of relatively rigid construction so that when a lifting force is applied at the corners thereof, they will not sag and drag on the hatch coaming. To this end I construct the covers in the form of hollow box-like structures having vertical side and end plates 23 and 24 which define the shape of the cover and also impart stiffness thereto. The covers are closed at their tops by means of plates '24 and may be further reinforced by stiffening plates or structural members 25 extending between the sidewalls 23. The lower edge of the cover may be provided with a lateral flange 26 which corresponds with the flange 2| of the coaming and cooperates With the sealing gasket 22.

As mentioned above, I provide the cover I3 with wheels W at its four corners which operate For mounting these wheels on the cover I provide the latter with a wheel mounting bracket 23 at each of its four corners. As shown in Figs. 4 and 8 this wheel mounting bracket may be constructed as a more or less integral part of the cover by extending the end of the vertical side plate 23 and reinforcing and stiffening the same with one or more gusset plates 29 and a pair of vertical angle bars 30 at its outer edge.

The wheels may be mounted on the brackets 28 in various ways, but I prefer to use a structural member 32 for this purpose which is preferably of channel-shape and arranged to extend between a pair of the brackets in substantially parallel relation to the rails M. The channel member 32 may be riveted or otherwise connected to the angle members 30 of the brackets with its recess opening outwardly away from the coaming. The rails id are laid on, and secured to, the deck l2 although spacers may be provided under the rails, if desired, to facilitate drainage and clean- For mounting the wheels IE on the channel member 32 I provide a bearing block 33 for each wheel which is preferably shaped to fit into the recess of thechannel member where it may be welded or otherwise secured in place. Axle shafts 34 are mounted in the bearing blocks 33, preferably by means of bushings 35 provided therein and project in opposite directions from the bearing block. The axle shaft extension 36 which projects inwardly toward the hatch coaming is offset or eccentric to the remainder of the shaft and forms a journal upon which the wheel I5 is rotatably mounted. The wheel may be retained on the eccentric shaft-extension 36 by means of a washer 3'1 and nut 38 applied to the inner end of the shaft. The shaft projection 50 which extends outwardly with respect to the bearing block and the hatch coaming may be of non-circular form to provide an actuating part whereby the axle shaft may be rotated in the bearing block to cause relative raising or lowering of the wheel l5.

The eccentric mountings thus provided for the wheels [5 afford a means for lifting and lowering the cover l3 with respect to the hatch coaming 20. When the hatch cover is to be moved ofif of the coaming to uncover the hatch opening, a wrench or the like is applied to the shaft projection 40 at each corner of the cover and by rotation of the axle shafts through 180 the wheels are caused to press against the rails l4 and to lift the cover relative to the hatch coaming. This lifting of the cover releases the sealing gasket 22 and provides a space between the flanges of the cover and coaming so that the cover can be moved laterally without dragging or scraping on the coaming.

When the hatch cover I3 has been thus lifted to clear the coaming, the bridle IQ of the opening winch I! is applied to the spaced ring bolts 4! of the cover and a winding-in of the cable l8 causes the cover l3 to travel on the rails l4 toward the stern of the ship to thereby uncover the hatch opening ll. When the hatch is to be closed the cover i3 is moved back into hatch closing position by the closing winch I6, whereupon the axle shafts are again rotated through 180 to thereby lower the cover relative to the coaming and cause the flange 26 to engage the sealing gasket 22. After the cover has been lowered onto the hatch coaming it may be clamped and held against accidental shifting by means of suitable clamps or dogs 42 spaced around the upper edge of the coaming.

When the axle shafts 34 are rotated to either of their l8il positions above referred to, they may be locked against accidental turning by means of pins 43 which are adapted to be inserted through aligned openings of the bearing block and shaft.

To facilitate the locating of the hatch cover IS with respect to the coaming 20 when the cover is moved to hatch closing position I may provide one or more stops 45 on the hatch coaming along the forward edge of the hatch opening. As shown in Fig. 5 these stops project above the flange ll of the coaming so as to be engaged by the cover flange 22 when the cover is in proper position on the coaming.

From the foregoing description and accompanying drawings it will now be readily seen that I have provided an improved hatch arrangement and cover actuating means whereby hatch covers can be moved to open or closed position in a more direct manner and with much less work and equipment than has heretofore been required. It will be seen further that in my arrangement all of the covers operate on the same pair of rails and it is only necessary to move each cover a relatively short distance into the space between a pair of adjacent hatch openings to leave the opening entirely unobstructed. The provision of opening and closing Winches at opposite ends of the series of hatch openings also facilitates the manipulation of the hatch covers. The reinforced hatch cover construction and wheel mounting which I have provided contribute to the practicability of this arrangement and eliminate the need for lifting cranes and other expensive apparatus which has heretofore been provided, either on the ships themselves, or on the loading and unloading docks.

While I have illustrated and described my improved hatcharrangement and cover actuating means in a somewhat detailed manner, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wisli'to be limited to the precise arrangement of parts and details of construction herein disclosed, but

regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do not constitute a departure from the spirit of the invention and. the scope of the appended claim. i

Having thus described my invention I claim: In a ship having adeck and a series of longitudinally spaced hatch openings of elongated quadrangular form and extending transversely of the ship, coamings around said openings, a track comprising rails on said deckextending longitudinally of the ship past the ends of the hatch openings, elongated quadrangular covers adapted to seat on said coamings for closing the hatch openings and each comprising a reinforced unitary metallic plate structure having brackets projecting laterally at the corners thereconnected with the corresponding pair'oi brackets,ia pair of spaced bearings mounted in the recess of each channel-shaped bar, axle shafts journaled in said bearings and having portions projecting oppositely therefrom, the shaft portions projecting from one end of the bearings tions and operable on said rails.

EGERTON B. WILLIAMS. v

of and overhanging said rails,,ja channel-shaped bar extending along each end of the cover and 

